Biotechnology Industry Organization
1225 Eye Street NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005
202.962.9200
info@bio.org
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Biotechnology Industry Facts
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There are more than 300 biotech drug products and vaccines currently in
clinical trials targeting more than 200 diseases, including various cancers,
Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and
arthritis.
Biotechnology is responsible for hundreds of medical diagnostic tests that keep
the blood supply safe from the AIDS virus and detect other conditions early
enough to be successfully treated. Home pregnancy tests are also biotechnology
diagnostic products.
Consumers already are enjoying biotechnology foods such as papaya, soybeans
and corn. Biopesticides and other agricultural products also are being used to
improve our food supply and to reduce our dependence on conventional chemical
pesticides.
Environmental biotechnology products make it possible to clean up hazardous
waste more efficiently by harnessing pollution-eating microbes without the use of
caustic chemicals.
Industrial biotechnology applications have led to cleaner processes that produce
less waste and use less energy and water in such industrial sectors as chemicals,
pulp and paper, textiles, food, energy, and metals and minerals. For example,
most laundry detergents produced in the United States contain
biotechnologybased enzymes.
DNA fingerprinting, a biotech process, has dramatically improved criminal
investigation and forensic medicine, as well as afforded significant advances in
anthropology and wildlife management.
As of Dec. 31, 2003, there were 1,473 biotechnology companies in the United
States, of which 314 were publicly held.
Market capitalization, the total value of publicly traded biotech companies
(U.S.) at market prices, was $311 billion as of early April 2005.
The biotechnology industry has mushroomed since 1992, with U.S. health-care
biotech revenues increasing from $8 billion in 1992 to $39 billion in 2003.
The U.S. biotechnology industry employed 198,300 people as of Dec. 31, 2003.
Biotechnology is one of the most research-intensive industries in the world. The
U.S. biotech industry spent $17.9 billion on research and development in 2003.
The top five biotech companies spent an average of $101,200 per employee on
R&D in 2002.
The biotech industry is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
U.S. Biotech Industry Statistics: 1994–2004*
2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994
33.3 28.4 24.3 21.4 19.3 16.1 14.5
13 10.8
9.3
7.7
Year
Sales*
Revenue
46.0 39.2 29.6 29.6 26.7 22.3 20.2 17.4 14.6 12.7 11.2
s
19.8 17.9 20.5 15.7 14.2 10.7 10.6
9.0
7.9
7.7
7.0
R&D
Expense
6.4
5.4
9.4
4.6
5.6
4.4
4.1
4.5
4.6
4.1
3.6
Net Loss
330 314 318 342 339 300 316 317 294 260 265
No. of
Public
Compan
ies
1,444 1,473 1,466 1,457 1,379 1,273 1,311 1,274 1,287 1,308 1,311
No. of
Compan
ies
Employe 187,5 177,0 194,6 191,0 174,0 162,0 155,0 141,0 118,0 108,0 103,0
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
es
*Amounts are U.S. dollars in billions.
Sources: Ernst & Young LLP, annual biotechnology industry reports, 1993–2005.
Financial data based primarily on fiscal-year financial statements of publicly traded
companies.
Source: Ernst & Young LLP, America's Biotechnology Report: Resurgence, 2004.
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